Audio probe

[formerMember1]

i got something i have to clear up.

1.In a pnp circuit you have to wire up the (red)hot of battery to jack,
and (black)ground to switch.
I originally had red wire to jack and black wire to switch.
Someone told me to switch them today. so i did. Which is correct?


2.if i look at the back of boost pot, lugs facing right. lugs numbered 123.
lug 3 being closest to your toes.

what is the hot and cold lug?
i know middle lug is wiper.

i currently have pot wired up as follows:
1 lug:power wire(cold)
2 lug: output cap and wire to switch
3.collector wire(hot)

please correct me if i am wrong.

[robotboy]

Am I the only one that thinks a continuity tester is sometimes easier to use than an audio probe? I like my probe, but I seem to fix problems faster with my multimeter.

[aron]

>1.In a pnp circuit you have to wire up the (red)hot of battery to jack,
and (black)ground to switch.
I originally had red wire to jack and black wire to switch.
Someone told me to switch them today. so i did. Which is correct?

Wait. OK:

PNP circuit means the circuit "ground point"  goes to the POSITIVE i.e. RED lead of the battery snap.

>See page 2 of atboost.pdf, the POSITIVE is connected to the "bottom" (ground point) of the circuit.  The 3.9K resistor, 50uF caps (positive ends), 68K resistor are all connected to that positive lead of the battery.

IF you wanted to the input jack to switch the battery on and off, the RED (i.e. positive) lead would go to the ring of the input jack. Signal to tip and sleeve to the ground point of the circuit.

IF not, then just connect the RED to the "ground point" mentioned above for debugging.


Reference this:



>what is the hot and cold lug?
i know middle lug is wiper.

3 to signal, 2 is wiper (output), 1 to ground.



>i currently have pot wired up as follows:
1 lug:power wire(cold)
2 lug: output cap and wire to switch
3.collector wire(hot)


Following my picture , 3 should connect to BLACK lead of battery snap, negative of 50uF cap and 470K resistor.
2 should connect to .01uF cap.
1 should connect to the collector of transistor.

[formerMember1]

yeah ok, thanks
i have everything wired up the same exact way as you explained.

i just recently had the pot wired up wrong since i swapped the wires going to 1 and 3 lugs to see if that was the problem. but i switched it back to the way i originally had it(the right way).

i am now back to the original way i had pedal wiried since the day i built it.
When it didn't work i changed those things to see if that was the problem, obviuosly those things were right in the first place.

i can't figure out what else could be wrong since everything i begin to think is wrong is actually right in the first place.

what i am going to do is draw a picture of my pedal using paint.
it will take me a while to draw but maybe you could see the problem.

thanks again for the help, it is appreciated greatly

[D Wagner]

Clone your own from the artwork supplied, half way down.  

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/FreeProjects/MiniBenchAmp/MiniBenchAmp.html

Derek

[aron]

Am I the only one that thinks a continuity tester is sometimes easier to use than an audio probe? I like my probe, but I seem to fix problems faster with my multimeter.

They all have their uses. The audio probe is just so excellent when you need to hear something.

[aron]

Ritchie,

Take a look at this:



Now, just connect the battery clip wires directly to the circuit:

Red to ground point (i.e. the "bottom" of the circuit.
Black to the "top" of the circuit.

That completes the circuit provided you wired everything correctly.

[aron]

This rangemaster thread describes exactly why I like to layout things like the schematic. It's easier to debug and talk about.

Maybe the terminal strips are grounding out?

[KORGULL]

formerMember1 wrote:

PS: i have 2.2M pulldown resistors at input and output of effect.
(wire from switch to resistor to input cap...
output cap to wire to resitor to switch)  

This makes me wonder if you have the 2.2M resistors in series with the switch instead of one end of the resistor going to ground.
Sorry if that is a stupid question - just trying to figure this out with the clues given.

Are you getting any sound when the effect should be on, like a hum or buzz?

How do i test to see if the capacitors or resistors are not bad. contiuity on my tuner doesn't go to that range.(i know it is rare if they are but just wondering)

You need to desolder one of the components' leads to disconnect it from the circuit and then connect your meter to the part. I wouldn't bother with that at this point though-you probably have some more likely problems to rule out first.

i have pedal temporarily wired up in a cardboard box(cut out same size as real box) becuase i thought i was going to have trouble.
is something groundin out because it is not hooked up to a metal pedal yet.

As long as the in/out jacks have their sleeve lugs wired to ground you should be okay. You might get some extra noise, but the circuit will still operate.

[aron]

OK, formerMember1,

First off, don't worry about the caps or resistors being burnt out. They rarely do. It's most likely a super simple problem you have. If you could take a picture or yes, draw out your circuit, I bet we will have it fixed in no time.

Don't give up yet.

[aron]

This was missing:

Black to the "top" of the circuit.

The black wire of the batter wasn't connected to the "top" of the circuit....

and unfortunately a lot more problems.

[formerMember1]

hey guys thanks for help.

Um yeah i do have pulldown resistors in series is that wrong?
(i have an output cap connected to wiper of pot, then other end of cap to a wire then the wire goes to one end of resistor then i soldered the other end of resistor to switch.)


i got an email from aron about correcting problems and already emailed him back before i read the replies on the forum.


so where do i send the other ends of the pulldown resistors if i solder them in circuit?
do i send one of each resistors ends to ground point?



thanks again man you guys really helped so far

PS: aron i apologize for the  email i misunderstood what resistors you were talking about. :oops:

[KORGULL]

Yeah, leave one end of the resistor connected to the output cap, and instead of running the other side of the resistor to the switch - connect it to ground. You could also leave it out altogether for now. You may not even need it and it is easy to add in later.
Try output cap to wiper then other side of out cap to switch.
Do the same for input.

The 2.2M resistors wired in series were probably dropping (eating up) most of your voltage and not letting current pass.

If you haven't done so already, get a breadboard and tinker with a few circuits until you can get them to work easily. It's far easier than soldering/desoldering when you're trying to figure stuff out.
Anyway, definitely keep going on this one - you'll get it eventually and learn alot in the process.

[formerMember1]

thanks korgull.
aron just emailed me and helped me out alot on circuit.
i cut out the resistors(pulldown)  and it worked!!

sounds good too.
just gotta bias it more tomorrow and stuff(can't wake up the household tonight)

Aron is so helpful . he emailed me over and over and over again helping to find the problem.  I confused him a bit with my picture of circuit.(sorry  :oops: Aron)

thanks  

[aron]

>Aron is so helpful . he emailed me over and over and over again helping to find the problem. I confused him a bit with my picture of circuit

Hey guys, we have a future pedal builder AND another helper on the forum  :wink:

[KORGULL]

formerMember1 wrote:

i cut out the resistors(pulldown) and it worked!!

sounds good too.
just gotta bias it more tomorrow and stuff(can't wake up the household tonight)

Cool!
Here is a link to an article explaining pulldown resistors and switch popping you might be interested in: //www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/box_pop.htm

Aron is so helpful . he emailed me over and over and over again helping to find the problem.

The first few weeks I started checking out this forum, I kept to the beginners forum only, I was extremely impressed by how helpful, supportive, and patient Aron and the other contributors were there. You really feel welcome here.
Before this place I never, ever thought I would be reading and posting on an internet forum. Now I'm seriously hooked. :shock:

[formerMember1]

[/quote]Cool!
Here is a link to an article explaining pulldown resistors and switch popping you might be interested in: www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/box_pop.htm

yeah thanks that helped clear up some things...

guys,
what should i change to get rid of some of the higher end harsh frequencies?
raise or lower the output and input cap?

i searched and found some ways online(still reading)
but just wondering what worked for you?
thanks again


oh yeah another thing you are right KORGULL
i am addicted now and yes i do spend a lot of time on this forum.
and i don't usually go to forums

[formerMember1]

whoops sorry i quoted myself :oops:

[aron]

what should i change to get rid of some of the higher end harsh frequencies?
raise or lower the output and input cap?

Wait... you built a treble booster. That's what it does is boost treble.

Yep, you can change the input cap to higher value and also see my simple mods page from my Home page.

[formerMember1]

oh yeah i know treble booster boosts treble, i just meant i wanted it to be a little more bassy and less harsh.(could be that i am using a strat with 69 single coils and an old 5 watt kay amp)

yeah, after i posted that i read some great stuff on your site to try.
thanks